I dropped down out of the tunnel, landing on a steep pile of pebbles and powdered rock that I slid on to the bottom. Pebbles met moss as I straightened up, marveling at the scenery.

   Leafy, fern-like plants that grew up to nine feet tall lined the walls of a cavern that must have been twice the size of my parents' house in both width and height. Vines climbed the walls and draped down from the ceiling, and moss covered almost everything. Some of these ferns also bore a strange, orange fruit—baracocha, if I could recall correctly—that faintly filled the air with a sweet scent. Neritantans nibbled at the fallen fruits, breaking the silence with occasional squeaks.

   The most notable flora in the cavern was the blue shining grass Vio had mentioned. It grew where the moss didn't on the walls and ceiling, and it also lined the bottom of a semi-large pond at the cavern's center. Ribbons of azure light danced across the walls in dazzling arrays, bright enough that we almost didn't need our headlamps.

   "I wasn't expectin' to come 'cross somethin' like this," Melva said after joining me at the bottom of the slope. She was looking around as much as I was, though her expression remained as stony as it had been since we first began this delve. Meanwhile, Vio had already begun searching through the ferns, trying to find any Relics.

   "There's hollows and tunnels hidden behind some of these plants." He turned back to us. "I don't think we're in Talpiclor territory, but there's a water source here, so you never know. Let's find a place to set up camp, and then we can start searching." I'd almost forgotten about those things. Hopefully this cavern was just a gathering place for Neritantans and nothing more.

   We established our camp at one of the far ends of the cavern, a place where the ferns were particularly tall and thick. It took some hacking, but we soon cleared away a spot in the center where we could sleep for the night. The ground wasn't as flat as it could be, but the surrounding plant life was enough to hide us from anything that might wander past. With only our tools in hand now, we set out into the cavern to hunt for Relics.

   To my delight, it didn't take long for me to start uncovering things. The Relics were hidden amongst the baracocha plants and stashed away in hollows in the walls. Most of these hollows were Neritantan dens, and they seemed to have a liking for shiny things. Finally, after spending so long in those tunnels, I was back in my element of Relic-searching. Rocks were overturned, ferns were pushed aside or slashed through, and walls were hacked at with precise blows from my pickaxe. My skin gained a sheen of sweat that soon became coated with dust, but I didn't care. I'd much rather work up a sweat knowing that I was moments away from finding something than merely walking or climbing.

   After some time, we cleared out as many Relics as we could find and reconvened near the pond, where we pooled our findings. The level of quality between the Relics here than on the upper layers was easy to see. Of the ones I found, the ones that stuck out to me were some kind of magnifying eyeglass set in a ring that produced light when put in darkness, and a writing instrument resembling a pen whose markings could only be seen in, again, darkness. It was as if the blue shining grass had been made into ink, even if there was no visible ink left behind.

   As I heard what Melva and Vio had to say about their own discoveries, I came to realize that many of the Relics were made to work in the dark. So while their placement in this naturistic cavern was odd, they still somehow fit in.

   Although Vio and I were happy with our findings, the same—of course—couldn't be said for Melva. "I would say it's a decent haul, but this is the Third Layer, not the first, and it's been two damn days. We need to find at least three times as much to say it's a successful trip," she said.

   "You really shouldn't expect as much, Mel," Vio said. "We were lucky to find this cavern. But yes, we should look for more. We'll comb through this place once more before we leave tomorrow morning. I think we've done enough for the day, and this place can serve as decent shelter."

   This truly upset me. Relics usually put a spark in Melva's eye from the prospect of a payment. Guilt would've been there to further consume me, but something else was eating away at me then. "Can we eat something, as well?" I asked. "I read that baracochas are edible." Watching the Neritantans gorge themselves on the fruit was admittedly making me hungry. My stomach growled as I imagined their taste; they were surely as sweet as they smelled.

   "You're right, and Neritantan is great paired with baracocha," Vio said. "After finding those Relics, it wouldn't be that awful if we relaxed a little and enjoyed ourselves. We just need to be careful about not smoking this place out."

   Melva sighed, removing her knife from its sheath. "I'll go find us some of those rodents, then. After that damn climb, I could use some fresh meat."

   Despite Melva eventually coming back to camp with four or so Neritantans, it was a struggle actually cooking them afterwards. Even with all of our accumulated skills, cooking wasn't among them. Vio was even known for burning everything he tried to prepare to boot, so Melva kept him away from the fire as soon as he finished cleaning her kills. It was up to her and me to not burn everything instead, which we mostly succeeded at. But it wasn't like a slight char didn't provide an interesting flavor!

   A while later, we were indulging in roasted Neritantan along with baracocha. The fruit was as good as I expected, and the meat was sweet as well. It was a more than welcome change from the horribly bland ration bars we restocked on at the Seeker Camp. The only downside was that we scared nearly every other Neritantan into their burrows, so we'd have to wait for them to come back out if we wanted to hunt more of them.

   "I'll say this' a plus after all of this," Melva said with a full mouth. "Ya don't get meat like this in Orth." I swore she ate more savagely than the beasts of the Abyss, and I once saw a half-starved Corpse Weeper devouring a Delver. That thought would've dulled my appetite if I wasn't so hungry, and I was glad to see that Melva's spirits had been lifted.

   You really need to apologize to her, I told myself. After all, the worst that could happen was that she could lie with her response. With a mental nod, I made up my mind about it, though I'd wait until tomorrow. She'd already gone through enough today, and I wanted to enjoy the rest of the evening with her like this.

   I never liked taking watch during the night. If my nerves weren't strung as tight as a rope, then I was horribly bored. There was never an in-between. And as I sat at the "entrance" to our camp, pickaxe by my side and my knife waiting in its sheath, the same feelings crept up on me.

   It only took me a few minutes to become bored out of my mind. I groaned internally; I still had over an hour to wait for the next shift change. Yes, I should've been thankful that nothing was happening, but it wasn't good for trying to stay awake. While that climb had really taken a lot out of me, I'd volunteered for the first watch because I felt I had to. I was the youngest here, I should have the most energy, even if it definitely didn't feel like it.

   I pushed up my goggles to rub my eyes, trying to wake myself up. The alert sensation would only last for a few seconds, however. It was so peaceful here, so calming. Since we were far away from the central shaft, I couldn't hear the creatures out there. It was just the odd, rhythmic croaking of some reptile by the pond, like I was back on the First Layer...

   The clang of metal against metal startled me awake, and I realized I'd toppled over. The metal rim of my goggles impacting the head of my pickaxe had been what jarred me awake. I cursed quietly and forced myself to my feet. This wasn't going to work. I needed to move around, or else I'd fall asleep again. After grabbing my pick for a bit of extra reassurance, I left camp. I just needed a short walk around, and then I would come right back.

   I was naturally drawn to the pond, as it was the brightest thing in the cavern. Some small reptile soundlessly slid into the water as I approached it, vanishing into the grass at the bottom. I walked a couple meandering laps around the pond, again taking in my surroundings. I couldn't get over how quiet it was in here. It was beginning to feel eerie, honestly. That nervousness chased some adrenaline into my system, waking me up more. All right, that was enough, time to head back.

   That was when I heard rustling, followed by loud squeaks. I tensed before I spotted the source, being a group of Neritantans. They ran through the bushes, heading deeper into the cave. Curious, I decided to follow them.

   The furry creatures soon dove into a thick cluster of ferns, thick enough that I had to cut some away with my knife so I could get through. I saw the tip of a tail vanish into a tunnel that was truly well-hidden. My curiosity grew, and I kneeled down to peer inside.

   Squeaking and chirping, the Neritantans scampered away down the tunnel, heading for... a circle of blue light. My eyes widened. It was small, but it definitely was blue light in the distance. Instantly my mind jumped to the conclusion that there was another cavern down the tunnel, and with another cavern, there could be more Relics.

   "The hell ya think you're doin'?"

   I let out a cry of fear as I jolted, smacking my head into the tunnel ceiling. I didn't have my helmet then, so it was more painful than it should've been. With my pride more bruised than my head, I backed out of the tunnel and was met with a disgruntled Melva. She didn't even wait to scold me.

   "It's like this is your first time bein' on watch!" she exclaimed. "I had to convince Vio that ya didn't get dragged off by a Talpiclor or somethin' else 'fore comin' to look for ya! I know ya like to move 'round, but this' too damn far."

   There was no making excuses, so I tried to explain. "Yes, I know, and I apologize for that. I was originally just walking to the pond and back. Then I saw some Neritantans running into the ferns, a-and I got curious... and... followed them here." My face burned as I realized how childish I sounded for being distracted by them. "Look, there might be another cavern down there." I showed her, and while her brow remained furrowed with irritation, I could tell she was interested.

   "Huh. Guess this sorta makes up for ya leavin' your post. Sorta," she grumbled. "Still, ya know not to pull that shit. I don't wanna wake up to a mouth full o' teeth 'bout to bite down on me. Not again." With a grunt, she got back to her feet. "I'll go get Vio. Bet he'll be happy to see this, even if we lost sleep for it."

   "W-wait a second, I'd like to take a quick look, if that's okay," I said.

   Melva arched a brow. "What? No, ya won't. Ya don't even have your headlamp."

   "I don't need it since I can see the light from here, and there don't seem to be any forks in the tunnel. I have both my pick and knife on me as well," I said.

   "Yeah, I can see that," Melva said, rolling her eyes. "I ain't gonna say anythin' 'bout practicality here since I praised ya 'bout it last week."

   I let out an exasperated sigh. "The point I'm trying to make is that I'm armed. You can go tell Vio while I see if it's another cavern, and then I'll come right back. If it doesn't look like it's anything good, then we wouldn't have wasted time breaking camp." I highly doubted that, though.

   Melva was silent as she stared at me, and I became increasingly aware of just how foolish my argument was. But at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to see what was at the end of that tunnel. There had to be more Relics just waiting to be uncovered, and more chances to make Melva happy. It sounded like Vio was just waiting, so it wasn't like he was overtly concerned about us. An extra few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

   "Ya don't change, do ya, kid?" Melva said. "I dunno..." She stuck her head into the tunnel again and was quiet, like she was trying to listen for something. "Don't hear nothin' weird... Okay, fine, but I'm comin' with ya. Then we come back and tell Vio."

   "Of course. We'll be quick." I again entered the tunnel, both trying to move swiftly while listening for anything unusual. There wasn't anything besides the scraping of our clothes against the rock as we crawled. Time passed, and it seemed that I had underestimated how long the tunnel was. Granted, we were crawling.

   The small circle of light gradually grew larger, and excitement filled me as I thought I could see the outlines of baracocha plants. It really was a cavern! I was about to tell Melva when she interrupted me.

   "Wait, stop!" she hissed, and my joy was brought to an abrupt halt as I froze. "Ya hear that?" I shifted slightly, trying to look back at her. As I did, I picked up on something. It was soft at first but steadily increased in volume as the source grew closer to where we were. The grinding of stone.

   And it was coming from the rock below us.

   "I-I'm not gonna say what I think it is," Melva started, "but we should—" The grinding grew louder, mixing with a loud cracking. The very tunnel trembled as bits of stone rained from the roof. "D-don't move..!" she demanded. "Might alert it where we are now, if it don't already know." I obeyed and stayed as still as I could, which was difficult since the tunnel was shaking so much.

   By now, the grinding was so loud that I swore the creature was mere inches below us. Was I about to stare death in the face yet again? It never ceased to terrify me, and that was what I was feeling now.

   After what felt like hours, the grinding began to recede, burrowing deeper into the rock. Neither of us dared to move until the creature had gone altogether. I didn't bother asking if it really had been a Talpiclor, because the answer was obvious.

   "Forget the cave, we need to get back now," Melva demanded, beginning to head back the way we came. I couldn't agree more.

   The tunnel was too small for me to properly turn around, so I had to awkwardly crawl backwards. I would've felt embarrassed if I still wasn't afraid of the near-encounter we had. Melva was in the same situation as me, so we got to share in the awkward yet tense atmosphere.

   That was, at least, until my hand punched a hole in the tunnel floor.

   My balance faltered, and my heart lurched as I almost fell but caught myself. I stared at the hole I left behind, eyes wide. Did that really just happen? I couldn't see a thing; it was pitch black in the hole.

   Slowly, I held my arm to my chest, trying to avoid putting pressure in that same spot. I shuffled backwards, but I seemed to press down with my other hand just a little too much. With a crunch, it went straight through the ground, and my face smacked the stone.

   "Did ya just fall, klutz?" Melva asked, exasperated.

   "N-no, well, yes, but the ground—" I didn't have the chance to finish my sentence. Those two punctures I caused were enough for the ground to further crack, and to my shock, crumble away. Before I knew it, the tunnel floor around me was no longer there, falling and dropping into blackness.

   Being weightless was never a good feeling. A grip on a rock or rope separated it from death, and neither were there for me to grab. Fear struck me sharply, and a cry left me as I began to fall headfirst after the rocks, only for something to seize my ankle at the last second. Momentum halted, and all my organs seemed to shift towards my throat as gravity pulled at me. It managed to take hold of my pickaxe, however, and it dropped into the hole after the rocks. Over the blood roaring in my ears, I could hear Melva.

   "Holy shit!" she swore loudly. "Don't ya dare move." Like I could, I was hanging upside-down! "Damn thing must've tunneled right under us," she muttered. "I'll have ya up in a sec." She took hold of my other ankle and began to pull. She groaned with the strain, and I hardly moved. "You're heavy as hell, kid! No wonder the ground cracked," she said with a nervous laugh. I would have laughed too if it weren't for the fear that threatened to swell back into terror.

   "Is everything okay? Wh-why can't you pull me up?" I asked.

   "I think it's the position. I'm stuck on my hands and knees when if I could stand, I could use myself as a counterweight."

   My stomach sank with dread. "So what are we going to do?"

   Thought rendered Melva quiet for a brief moment before she said, "Is there anythin' ya can grab onto in there?"

   I was almost afraid to reach out in fear of touching something besides rock, but I still did. There were walls around me except for right in front of me. All I could do was brace my fingers against two of the solid walls. I must've fallen right into the bend of the tunnel if there was an open space.

   "No, th-there isn't anything," I said. "Now what?" I didn't like the longer silence, not at all. Then she replied.

   "Call for help," she said. "Vio! Vio, can ya hear me?" Her shout echoed down the tunnel, warping into jumbled syllables towards the end. I hung there for a minute that felt like an hour as we waited. She called again, and there still was nothing.

   "H-he can't hear us... can he?" I stuttered. I could hardly get a word out. My heart was in my throat, choking me as my head began to pound with pressure. "You can't use your whistle?"

   "Not if I wanna drop ya. Don't worry, I-I'll make 'im hear!" Melva said quickly. "Vi—!" Rocks crumbled, and I slipped down a bit as Melva's grip faltered. Fear turned to terror again, and for a moment, my vision went hazy. (Un)fortunately, it didn't take long for my racing heart to reel me back into consciousness. "Shitshitshit!" Curses spilled from Melva like water from a bursting dam as her grip tightened.

   She's panicking. I couldn't believe it. She was actually panicking. Hearing the worry in her voice provided new fuel for my own. It took everything I had to not break down into panic myself, even as my heart pounded out of my chest.

   "I'm gonna pull ya again!" Melva exclaimed. I tried to walk my hands up the walls in an attempt to push myself up while she pulled. I only was able to move an inch or so before Melva gasped, and I slipped down even further than before. Melva cursed loudly. "Vio, get your ass in 'ere!" she shouted, almost screaming now.

   Even with how terrified I already was, it somehow grew worse as the true weight of the situation began to set in. Melva couldn't pull me up, Vio wasn't here to help, I was dangling over what could easily be a precipice, and if the fall didn't kill me, it would be the Talpiclor. A deep, visceral shudder ran through me. Right then, I was essentially a strung-up piece of meat in a butcher's shop.

   "So much can happen in three weeks..."

   Aedia, Mother, Father, I'd promised them that I'd be safe, and now... I shook my head frantically. This couldn't be the end. There had to be something else I could do! I again tried to push myself up to no avail. Even with all the arm strength I'd built up, I only had my fingers to use.

   As I sank back down into the position I'd maintained this whole time, that slight ember of hope began to fade as a cold hand gripped my heart. Was... this going to be my fate? Would I fall to my death or be eaten alive?

   "Kid, ya okay? Don't pass out on me or somethin'!" Melva's voice was growing more strained. She couldn't hold on for much longer. Something would have to happen now, or else I'd fall.

   No, no that couldn't happen. This couldn't be happening! As a last resort, I grabbed my whistle. "Brace yourself, Melva," I warned before taking as deep a breath as I could. I then blew my whistle with all the air I had. The shrill noise echoed about the tunnel, reverberating and rattling as it died out. I hoped against hope that someone would hear it. And moments later, I received a reply.

   Deep within the tunnel ahead of me, a sound bearing the beauty of nails on a chalkboard echoed out to grace our ears: scraping stone.

   The hand around my heart clenched shut, digging into me with icy nails. Everything in me simultaneously seized and went limp from sheer terror. To my shame, my bladder loosened as well. I hardly felt my pants dampen, nor did I care. All I could focus on was the scraping that was now beginning to approach us. Melva muttered something that couldn't have better described what we both felt then. "Oh fuck."

   Instead of moving or continuing to call for help, neither of us did anything. We knew what was on its way, and the positions we would be in when it arrived. I'd still be hanging in this hole, and Melva would still be holding me. I never knew acceptance could feel worse than death, but it was sobered by one fact: I couldn't let Melva die.

   "Melva..." I really was saying this. "Dr-drop me. You'll have to drop me..!"

   That snapped Melva from her stupor as she barked, "What? Hell no! If that thing's comin' back, i-it's gonna halfta deal with the both of us."

   "I don't want you to die, though! My knife won't be enough, I-I know it. Drop me, j-just drop me!" The scraping grew ever closer, and I swore I could see something moving in the darkness ahead. "T-tell Addy and my parents that I'm so, s-so sorry..!" I whimpered.

   "Vio! Please!" Melva screamed down the tunnel. "Kid, don't ya dare!"

   I needed to say this before I made my next, and last, action. "I-I'm sorry for making you do this!" And I kicked out with all my strength. Nothing was stopping me now, and with Melva's grip compromised, gravity took over. I tumbled down the shaft, my vision swiftly becoming obscured by pure darkness.

   "Len!"

   The remaining light was eclipsed as Melva dove into the hole after me. Her headlamp illuminated the look on her face: utterly terrified. It was the last light I saw as we plummeted into the Talpiclor's labyrinth.